Gexpro, formerly GE Supply and now part of Rexel’s global empire, has quietly built a sizeable presence in the wind market and now has sales of approximately $100 million in this market niche.
The company sells wind industry original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) electrical products such as power cable, cable tray, lighting fixtures and cable harnesses, according to a recent interview with Robert Connors, division president, Gexpro Services, published in the May/June issue of Wind Systems magazine. That article said Gexpro also provides wind OEMs with products and services for their “nacelle, blade, and tower applications (including) bolts, fasteners, brackets, ladders, platform assemblies, and a lot of other large-diameter hardware for the tower internals.”
To build relationships with these customers Gexpro Services banks on its experience in national account contracts, lean manufacturing and the Quality process. According to the company’s website, Gexpro Services also works closely with GE’s Wind Energy unit. Says the promotion, “Gexpro Services’ product expertise and procedural best practices are helping GE manufacture more wind power with fewer man-hours and lower product cost than ever before. Working closely with GE Wind Energy, the Gexpro Services team in Pensacola, Fla., developed a world-class kitting program for machine heads and hubs.
“From sourcing and specifying to staging and shipping, Gexpro is delivering kits for more than 2,000 wind turbines each year. The massive kits include scores of parts, from fractions of an inch to ten feet across – delivered together and through a LEAN pull methodology. Only a company with the resources and flexibility of Gexpro Services could execute on such a complex operation so simply and error free.”
Along with its focus on wind energy and other energy markets, GexPro Services is providing supply chain services to several verticals, including the transportation, aerospace, commercial and industrial technology markets. The company draws from an inventory of 126,000 stock-keeping units warehoused in its global warehouse network.